Love Bites
by Sailor Water Dragon
Summary: Gumball decides to visit his cousin, Princess Bubblegum in Ooo for a short vacation. To get away and relax for a while...or at least that was the plan. Prince Gumball x Marceline
1. Getting Away

_My Dearest Cousin, _

_Since your most recent letter regarding your frightening experience with the local villainess, as well as matters of your heart being broken, I humbly request you return to Ooo for a short holiday. Just a few days to get away and recollect your thoughts. Besides, it's about time you visited your favorite relative. I'm sending Peppermint Butler to retrieve you, as you should very well know this means we won't be taking no for an answer. See you soon. _

_Love,_

_Bonnibel _

He let out another small chuckle, re reading the letter for the hundredth time for the sake of passing the time.

There was a specific reason as to why he never visited his cousin as often as he would've liked. It took two hours on Lord Monochromicorn to fly over Aaa to the dock, four hours on the ferry across the ocean, then three hours via chariot from the Ooo dock to the CandyKingdom.

He groaned and stretched as he lied on the plush cushions of the chariot in a very unprincely state, his leg propped up while the other dangled off the seat with his arm over his eyes. It was a long trip; royal mannerisms were well out the window at this point.

"Are you holding up my Prince?" a small voice from above asked innocently.

Gumball laughed, at least he had good ol Peppermint Butler his entire journey," I'll survive, dare I ask how much longer?"

"About 10 minutes now"

Gumball lifted his arm from his eyes and sat up slightly.

Sure enough, right outside the window of the chariot was the beginning of the CandyKingdom, the color of the trees and pavement became brighter, happy and peaceful. Sitting up completely and peaked outside. Small houses passed by, with citizens of the kingdom going about their business and the sound of candy horses clopping on butterscotch streets.

Finally, after an entire day of traveling he made it to his birth place.

Sitting up properly and he smoothed out his pants and sleeves that became wrinkled during several naps, he sighed and picked up his small crown that sat on the cushions across from him; time to be a prince again.

Soon the chariot was pulled to a stop in front of the castle steps, moments later the tiny butler opened the door, "We have arrived"

Stepping out, the pink prince cracked his neck and sighed in relief, "…I won't be looking forward to the trip back home…" he mumbled, but regardless he placed the crown his head and straightened his tunic.

"Three weeks is a long time, but you should go on now. The Princess has been eagerly awaiting your return" he smiled, pointing upwards.

Funny how a few days away turned in a few weeks of vacation, but he wasn't going to argue.

"So have I, thank you Peppermint. It's good to be back"

With that he took in a deep breath and began the very long and steep trek up the castle steps. He was in no hurry, considering his legs still sore from sitting for hours made it impossible to go any faster than what he was currently going but in a way he was thankful.

The point of this visit was to take a break from his own kingdom, to slow down from his constant busy schedule and royal duties. What better place to do just that than the very place he grew up?

"Things sure haven't changed" he laughed as he reached the final step and paused a moment to look up at the grand castle in all its glory and amazing resemblance to his own.

Speaking of things not changing, upon the doors opening before him, Gumball looked up and laughed, "Hello Manfred!"

The piñata smiled and cleared his throat," Announcing the arrival from the land of Aaa, Prince-"

"Gumball!" Another voice called out excitedly.

The Prince of Aaa turned around just in time to see the Princess of Ooo running to him and wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug.

"Hello Bubblegum" he laughed, returning the hug," Let me see you"

She loosened her grip to look up at her older cousin, his eyes widened in surprise, cupping her face in his hands, "My look at you! The last time I saw you this crown barely fit your head" he teased, gently poking at the tiara earning a small giggle from the princess.

"It's good to see you; I've missed you so much" she smiled, hugging him close.

He chuckled, placing a small kiss on her brow, he didn't want to think on how long it had been since he had seen her; the girl who might as well had been his sister. Instead he held her close, "I've missed you too"

As per how things normally go in the land of Ooo, their sentimental reunion was cut short as the wall suddenly exploded as Finn the human was sent flying straight through and slid to a halt in the middle of the grand hall face first.

"Ow…"

Immediately, the two ran over to the pile of wall chunks and a rather frazzled looking human.

"Finn! Are you alright?" she asked, kneeling beside him and gently poking his head.

Gumball blinked in surprised as the young boy just rolled over and brushed the debris off his shoulder," I'm fine! Your castle walls are made of candy and all" he laughed and smiled up at his princess, but quickly fell as he finally noticed another pink person standing behind her.

"…hey Pb, did you get your clone machine to work? I think it went wrong"

Gumball and Bubblegum took a moment to look at each other," Hm, I never noticed any extreme resemblances…"

The princess just shook her head and laughed, "No silly, this is my cousin Prince Gumball, he's visiting"

On cue, Gumball knelt beside the human and held out his hand, "I've heard many things about you Finn"

The boy smiled big and shook the newcomer's hand with much vigor, "I hope they were awesome things!"

"OH GLOB"

Suddenly Finn was whisked away from Gumball's grasp as a yellow blur was also sent flying out of the very hole Finn burst through and collided with the boy.

"Owwww….."

The yellow blur was in fact the magical dog also described in his cousin's letters, who was now in a long tangled mess of his long limbs with his best friend.

"…and this must be Jake" Gumball chuckled lightly.

"Don't mind me I'm just going to lie here a moment…" Jake groaned in pain, doing just that and remained unmoving.

Bubblegum however was less than amused and let out an annoyed sigh.

"What's this about?"

"Well…I took your advice…training my soldiers so I wouldn't get kidnapped all the time"

Granted Gumball should take own advice but he felt the need to tell his little cousin this regardless.

"But…I thought Finn would be doing the training"

Finn responded with a grunt as he pushed the limp dog off of him, who just plopped over like a blob of spaghetti.

"He was"

"…so who is now?"

Bubblegum paused a moment, "Well…."

A clash of steel, the cry of frightened guards and a frustrated growl, though it sounded more like a snarl, captured the attention of the Candy royals.

"Finn get back here! These stupid bananas still don't get it, we need to do it over!" the voice of an angry young woman called out from the other side of the hole in the wall.

Finn whimpered lightly and stood up, he had no serious injuries and there no excuses. He just not so excited to be the example again, "Coming…"

With less than enthusiastic speed, and two pink persons behind him, Finn wobbled back to the hole and hopped into the room.

Within was the entire Banana army, loyal soldiers and servants to the CandyKingdom, armed to the teeth and shaking in fear.

Every single one, pressed against the wall, attempting to be as far as possible from the middle where one lone figure stood with a blood red axe in her grasp.

As the boy stepped forward, the woman turned around and smiled, exposing pearly white fangs with evil intent," Alright, take two. Attack me head on and try to dodge this time yeah?"

Finn grumbled and hesitantly walked towards the other side of the training room, giving himself a head start to his own demise.

There were other words, complaints and snarky replies exchanged but Gumball couldn't hear them. The two stood outside the hole to watch from a distance, but the moment he caught sight of the huge weapon, beautiful raven hair and piercing immortal eyes, he couldn't find the ability to look away.

"…Bonnibel" he started calmly.

"Yes?"

Finn let out a prepubescent battle cry as he charged full speed at the vampire with his short blade.

"Is that the Vampire Queen you spoke about in your letters?"

She remained as she was, standing casually but her axe at the ready.

"Yep, I originally had Finn do the training but she kind of…invited herself. As per usual" the princess rolled her eyes.

Just as the human got close enough, she lifted her weapon and swiped at him, aiming for his throat, luckily this time he did in fact dodge by sliding on his knees, slipping under the blade just in time. With her back to him, he lunged at her but she was too fast, and whirled around, bringing her axe down on his sword, lodging the blade into the ground.

Gumball mumbled, "…you never mentioned…" he trailed off, feeling his face grow warm all of a sudden.

She laughed and placed her red boot on the boy's face as he struggled to pull his sword free.

"Marceline you're freaking out my soldiers" Bubblegum finally spoke up, stepping over the debris of the wall to enter.

The Banana guards quickly straightened up and snapped at attention at the presence of their princess, Marceline however just shrugged.

"Hey if they can take me out then you have nothing to worry about for the rest of your gummy little…"

She blinked and did a double take as another pink person in equally fancy clothes followed after the princess.

"Dude, stop it with the cloning. One day you're going to get it right and we're all doomed" with a little shove, Finn was sent a few feet across the floor landing flat on his back with a boot print on his face.

"Ha ha hey I said that too!" he laughed, pointing up at Gumball, who was still not convinced.

"I still don't see it…"

"Don't be stupid, this is my cousin" Bubblegum stepped to the side, and addressed her servants," and he's going to be staying with us for a while, you will all treat him no differently than me"

Every single Banana responded as one, "Yes Princess"

As any good Prince would and should do, it was only proper to introduce himself to new people especially to those of royal status, regardless of how serious they took it. He cleared his throat and stepped forward.

"You must be the Vampire Queen" he started.

Marceline couldn't have look any less interested, she casually glanced at him, making his insides turn. He could feel her scanning him from head to toe, already making judgments, "Sup pinkie" she grinned slightly.

Refusing to let his polite gentlemen like posture fall, he tried again, offering his hand out in a friendly hand shake,"I am Prince Gumball from-"

"Aaa" she finished for him as her face fell. There was something in her eyes that changed, a silent fury he couldn't explain but made his heart sink.

" Well then, nice meeting you" and with that she turned around and walked off, completely ignoring his very existence.

Gumball blinked in surprise, his hand left hanging in the wind; just like that she gave him the cold shoulder.

There was only one solid reason for this behavior, the one minor detail he had completely forgotten.

"…you really are his sister…" he muttered under his breath.

Unfortunately another minor detail he had also forgotten was a vampire's very impressive hearing.

Within seconds, she whipped around with her axe in a tight grasp and it's blade under his chin and inches from his throat.

"Don't you fucking dare say his name in front of me" she growled, her face pulled into a deep scowl with her razor shark fangs at the ready if for whatever reason the axe didn't do the trick.

The room gasped, once again the guards were back against the wall in fear despite a royal member's life being threatened no one dared to interfere with the Vampire Queen and her wrath.

Even Bubblegum and Finn stepped back, her closest friends afraid of this brand new trigger word that brought out the true monster.

Gumball remained absolutely and utterly still, sweating bullets as her eyes bore into his very soul, he could've sworn they were red for a moment, "A-ah, right. I-I forgot, sensitive topic. M-my apologies" he stammered horribly, praying to the Cosmic Owl that his life would be sparred.

"Hmph, that's what I thought" within a blink of an eye, her fierce glare disappeared and the axe was removed from his neck. She calmly floated back to her spot where Finn's sword was still embedded in the floor while the room slowly registered exactly what had just taken place.

"Alright you marshmallows, we're gonna keep doing this til you get it right. Get up Finn" she ordered, casually ripping the blade out from the floor for him.

Finn looked up at Bubblegum, who looked just as confused as he did, "Uh…o…k…" he started, standing up and returning the vampire's side to retrieve his weapon.

"Right then…good luck boys" Bubblegum coughed, beginning her own prayers that her soldier's lives would be sparred. She looped an arm around Gumball's, gently pulled him aside.

"What ever you just did, don't ever do it again" she whispered harshly as she dragged the still very shocked prince away.

He shook his head, finally regaining his composure, "I uh…right sorry…but…I just…" even as he was being dragged away, he found himself looking back at the woman that nearly killed him, his heart still thumping wildly in his ears and a faint blush returned to his cheeks.

"…wow"

* * *

I will go down with this ship.

~SWD


	2. Starting Over

"See this here? This is where I'm stuck, if we could find a way to bypass the overheating the entire process would just go a lot smoother and…"

Bubblegum turned around, preparing for another onslaught of science and technical terms for her cousin but her words were fallen on deaf ears. He was sitting close by on a desk chair, at one point taking vigorous notes as she spoke.

One major advantage to his visiting Ooo was that now she had another person who was just as scientific as she was. Though she had surpassed him, Gumball was the only one that could keep up with her which meant he could also assist her. All of her experiments could be completed in half the time with his help.

Assuming he would help.

His efforts were valiant, his notes were accurate and up to standards however he was behind, struggling to keep up. Which was not normal.

"Gumball are you alright? You seem distracted today"

He looked up and put on a small smile, "O-oh no it's fine I…"

"Bubba…" her voice was firm, she knew him better than that.

He sighed, removing his goggles and pinching the bridge of his nose"…well if you wish for honesty then no…I'm not alright"

She pulled up a chair and removed her goggles as well, teleportation and traveling through interdimensional portals can wait for now.

"Care to talk about it?"

He stared at her for a moment, unsure as to where he could start. But her willingness to listen was more than enough to convince him to just go for it.

"Have…you encountered any vampires…of the opposite sex?"

Bubblegum blinked at this seemingly random question, despite her confusion she thought back to her recent vampire encounters.

"Not personally"

Gumball huffed in disappointment, stroking his chin in though, "…hm…well I heard in vampire folklore that they can cast spells on their victims, some even more powerful vampires can do this without even the victim being aware of it. Granted I assumed the opposite sex, I had heard it was easier to do but then again I'm sure it would be just as easy to do it with the same sex depending on the vampire's power but regardless it is very do able and-"

"Whoa whoa whoa wait a second" the princess' eyes narrowed at her cousin, "You think Marceline put a spell on you?"

He sighed, "I don't know…it's a theory…I just…I don't have any other explanation for the way I've been lately"

A curious eye brow was raised at this, "Such as?"

"I didn't sleep well last night, I wasn't hungry this morning, I'm not in the mood for science or baking like I normally am and I just can not, for the life of me, stop thinking about her" he groaned, gently rubbing his temples as another headache began to grow.

He had been thinking, evaluating, making theories and examining his strange condition for hours and had no luck figuring out exactly what was wrong with him.

Gumball looked up as Bubblegum reached over and gently pat his knee with a sweet smile on her face, "Bubba…my dear sweet cousin, listen to me very closely"

He nodded.

"I think you just have a crush on her"

"…oh"

The faint blush that crept along his face was more than enough to confirm just that.

Bubblegum chuckled lightly, patting his knee once more before standing up, beginning the ever so interesting task of cleaning up,"…which confounds me, she almost killed you yesterday…" she added.

"I don't quite understand it either but…it would appear you are correct" he mumbled, standing up and following her to a separate table covered in tools and notes to be put away.

She began carefully picking up each individual paper of scribbled notes that were blown away by their first test run, "Which brings me to my next point, you didn't exactly have a wonderful first impression"

He huffed, taking on the duty of yanking out the tools that were lodged into the table and wall, also due to the first test run, "That wasn't my fault! She knew where I was from and connected that with her brother"

"And isn't her brother your best friend?"

"Yes…I didn't tell him where I was going either, he would've reacted the same" He sighed, thinking back at the lies he had to tell his own friend. Luckily he seemed to have bought the "First Annual Royal meetings of royals in another country not quite discovered" story.

"…and if he finds out I'm crushing on his sister, whom he despises…." Gumball paused a moment, just thinking about what he would do…

He whimpered and placed his head against the wall, "Oh glob what do I do?!"

Bubblegum turned around to find her cousin hitting his face against the wall repeatedly in frustration, she sighed, "Bubba you came here to find peace, now you're more stressed out than when you got here…and…I'm just not sure this is the right time, you're still getting over her"

_…as well as matters of your heart being broken, I humbly request you return to Ooo for a short holiday._

The prince removed his face from the lab wall and continued his work putting the tools back in their proper place, however at a much slower pace than before.

"I lost Fionna because I was too hesitant, and too stupid to notice the signs. She's happy now and I don't want to impede on that" he recalled the day she "introduced" him to her new boyfriend, the Prince of the FireKingdom. He hadn't seen her that happy in months.

"I don't know…it's not scientific but call it fate that as soon as I arrive there this vampire girl is there and…"

The blush returned with a vengeance.

"Bonnibel you talk about her in your letters but…you never mentioned…I mean...she's beautiful!"

In the land of Aaa, yes there were many of the female gender but nothing like the Vampire Queen. There were heroines, and psychotic witches. But this girl…was something else entirely.

The Princess placed her neatly stacked papers on the lab counter and sighed; she turned around and leaned back against it, thinking carefully on choosing her words.

"Bubba, don't get me wrong, she's my best friend and I love you but its just….Marceline is…unpredictable…She's a thousand years old and has only been in one relationship, to my knowledge…"

His face fell into surprise," One relationship?"

"Besides, you came here to relax like I said" she crossed her arms and glared at him.

He opened his mouth to retort but her stern look told him to hold it in. It would appear he would be getting no assistance from his cousin but that didn't mean he would give up.

His shoulders sagged as he let out a fake sigh of defeat, "…yes I suppose you're right…she's not here all the time anyway right?"

Because fate enjoys toying with Prince Gumball, somewhere down the hall another wall just exploded via small human boy crashing through it.

"GLOBBIT"

Followed by an annoyed Vampire Queen

"Finn get up!"

"I can't feel my legs!"

As Gumball's eyes gleamed with excitement, Bubblegum slapped her own forehead.

* * *

The sun finally began its decent behind the hills of the grasslands after a rather long and busy day. With a rough prototype complete and a nearly successful test run of an interdimensional teleportation device, the two pink scientists decided to take a break.

While Bubblegum left to do her own royal duties, Gumball took this moment to escape to the Castle gardens. The moment the door behind him clicked shut and a soft breeze of sweet flowers and blooming cupcake gently brushed by, he was immediately hit by old memories.

Summer days spent as a child with Bonnibel playing in the gardens, chasing butterflies and conducting small scale solar panel experiments. Good memories were had within the rows of donut sprinkled bushes.

And for some reason, there was also a shoe, within the rows of donut sprinkled bushes.

Gumball paused in mid step to find not only a shoe; it was connected to a leg, just sticking out and right in his path. The Prince carefully stepped over it and peaked over the short donut bush, in which upon close inspection, was rather lacking in donuts.

He laughed, finding Finn and Jake lying flat on their backs, looking utterly exhausted, bruised, full bellies and half eaten donuts, cupcakes and what ever else they picked from the garden.

"Rough day fellas?"

The two looked up at the prince with panic on their faces but too tired to make any attempt to move.

"Please tell me you're here to enjoy the sunset and not send us back to Marceline" Finn begged desperately.

"I hate vampires" Jake whined, stretching his own ears over his body like a blanket, in need of a nap.

It would appear to have been a long and busy day for the heroes of Ooo as well, "You may rest easy, I am in fact here to enjoy outside…" his words trailed off as there was a moment of realization.

Bubblegum was elsewhere.

The boys were here taking a break from training, meaning there was a slim chance she could still be around.

Possibly alone.

"Um…however…would you happen to know where she is?"

Just as Finn opened his mouth to answer, a paw slapped over the boy's mouth. Jake sat up, eye brow raised in curiosity, "Wwwwwhhhhyyyyy?"

Gumball quickly noted Jake's wit, "I…was…just…wondering…" he coughed.

The dog stared at the prince for a moment, the awkward shuffling of feet, the anxious look on his face. Jake grinned mischievously.

"Hey, you see that rose bush over there?" his free hand, extended well over their bush fortress and pointed to the left. .

Gumball followed Jake's arm, sure enough there was a small section of rose bushes against a wall, separating the gardens from the village outside.

"Yes?"

"Go on and sit over there"

Gumball blinked in confusion," What?"

Jake's long arm grabbed the prince by the shoulder and gently pushed him away towards the roses, "Just trust me"

"Uh…well ok then…thank you I guess?" he called out as he went off on his own without the aid of the gentle push.

Feeling rather accomplished for the day, Jake chuckled to himself and returned to his normal size, legs crossed and arms behind his head.

Finn coughed and wiped his mouth free from his friend's dirty paw, "What was that about Jakey?"

"I know that helpless look anywhere" he laughed, recalling only a few months ago he had seen the same look on the human boy's face when in search of the Princess of the FireKingdom.

Meanwhile, it didn't take too long for the prince to realize what Jake was doing, within a few feet from the thorny bushes of roses, was the clear sound of music.

A deep smooth sound accompanied with a soft hum.

He couldn't see her, but he knew she was on the other side, relaxing like everyone else with her music.

'The sun is setting, she's on the other side where it's shaded then…' he thought to himself. As instructed he took a seat on the grass with his back against the wall, closing his eyes and listening.

She hummed and plucked the strings, there was no set song or rhythm. She just played whatever she felt like. Which boggled the mind of a scientist, who needed detailed planning to do much of anything yet somehow she was able to just play and let it flow and it was beautiful.

His squeezed his eyes shut, concentrating on listening as her soft hums became faint words, "_Love Bites...but so do I...so do I…_"

He found himself completely lost in her new song, not at all noticing the figured looming above him.

"Bubba…"

His eyes shot open and he scrambled to his feet, brushing his tunic of dirt and grass.

Bubblegum stood before him with her arms crossed, and her foot tapping.

"What? I'm not doing anything" he mumbled, feeling like a child being scolded.

She rolled her eyes, giving up on her hopeless romantic cousin she turned around and waved him off, "Alright but don't blame me if she comes out and bites your face off"

"…would she do that?" he gulped.

"Probably" and off she went.

Gumball sighed; he will be hearing it from her later that was for sure.

"Yeah sure sounds like Marshall…" he muttered under his breath.

"Excuse me?" A voice from above, and she was not happy.

Gumball nearly jumped out of his skin and whirled around to find the Vampire Queen standing on top of the wall with the massive axe bass over her shoulder.

"O-oh I uh…I…s-sorry…I didn't…" there was plenty more he wished to say, but as she slowly floated downwards towards him, his ability to speak appeared to have died somewhere in his throat.

Soon she was eye level with him, though still floating and still appearing much taller than what he was currently feeling right now, "I don't give free performances your highness" she growled.

He put his hands up in his defense, "A thousand apologies I didn't mean to…I just…" he paused a moment, he knew what he wanted to say, it was just a matter of was it the smart thing to say.

"You're amazing" only one way to find out, "You're very talented"

Marceline was officially caught off guard, her face fell in surprise, and a small blush crept along her face.

There was a moment of hope in his heart but she shook her head and looked away.

"Yeah well…whatever" she grumbled, crossing her arms and began to fly off.

Gumball smiled to himself, she may have played it off but he knew he had her for a moment there. But now she was leaving, again.

_I lost Fionna because I hesitated._

"W-wait!" he called out to her louder than he had planned, but regardless she stopped and glanced over her shoulder.

"Please I know you don't want to associate yourself with me because of your brother. But give me a chance"

Marceline turned around completely and asked, "Why?"

"….because…I…uh…" once again his words failed, but this time, he truly had no idea why. His brain went over many different possibilities and outcomes of this conversation, yet somehow the simple question of why eluded him.

"I actually don't have a reason…so…" he gulped, taking the plunge into the unknown, against every scientific instinct in his body,"…why not?"

Thankfully, his risky answer was appreciated, as a small smile graced her lips.

"I'm not sure if you're stupid or if you have guts dude"

He laughed nervously, "Heh…I'm not too sure either"

Stepping forward, he brought his hand out to her a second time, "Can we start over?"

If he knew anything about vampires, especially after yesterday's mishap, there was no doubt in his mind that she could hear the insane thumping of his heart against his chest. This was his theory of course, as she had a knowing smile on her face.

She shrugged, reaching out and taking his hand finally. But much to her surprise, it wasn't a hand shake he was seeking.

He cleared his throat and bowed slightly before properly introducing himself, "My name is Prince Bubba Gumball of the CandyKingdom in the land of Aaa"

With that he placed a small kiss over her knuckles.

"U-uh…" she somehow didn't see that one coming, her face exploded into a fierce blush.

He stood up and smiled sweetly

"M-Marceline…Vampire Queen…" she somehow managed to mumble out.

Gumball's smile couldn't get any bigger knowing he made her blush and fluster, she gently slipped her hand out of his grasp and coughed,"Alright Gumgum, you got your second chance in exchange for not mentioned that retard in front of me ever again"

"Consider it done"

With that she turned back around and floated away, "and I guess I won't rip your face off for eavesdropping" she laughed.

He scratched the back of his head nervously, "Uh…it's…most appreciated…"

It wasn't clear whether or not she had heard him, regardless he let out a lung full of air he apparently had been holding in the entire time, and plopped back on his rear by the wall, mentally exhausted.

"Well at least she's talking to me now…" he sighed, looking over the gardens where Marceline reached into the not so solid bush fortress and pulled both Finn and Jake out, ready for round two.

The boys whined but one nasty growl the two were off running back into the training room with the banana guards. She laughed and followed, gently stroking her knuckles when she thought no one was watching.

He smiled.

* * *

"Love Bites" by Halestorm

This band will be a big part of the story in the future. Just fyi.

~Swd


	3. On Purpose

It had only been a few days and all the troubles of the Candy Kingdom seemed so far away now, for once in his life Gumball felt free. Of course he asked if his cousin needed any help running her own kingdom, out of habit, but she was still insisted he relax on his vacation. Which he obeyed without much of a fuss. Without a single royal meeting or duty to attend to, he was able to be at peace and do the things he loved to do without any interruption.

For the most part.

Marceline seemed hell bent on training the banana guards properly while using Finn and Jake as punching bags. Although upon distant observation, she had no intention of truly training anyone. She seemed to just revel in the fear the royal guards expressed as she threw the human boy out the window without batting an eyelash.

The grin on her face, the look in her eyes.

He had to remind himself that watching from the window was rude and weird. Though he had yet to be caught, by his cousin or anyone inside the room itself, but something told him that she knew he was watching.

He would purposely take the long way around to the kitchen, passing by the training room in the late afternoons when she would arrive. Then purposely walk at a snails speed by the door, just to get a peak within. The door was usually left wide open; the wall connected was still under going repairs.

Within seconds, she would seemingly at random become more aggressive, nearly sending a few guards into the medical wing.

But the moment he realizes he had been standing there too long, or a castle staff member walks by, he casually retreats. Not another near death experience or major training accident occurs again.

She was trying to scare him off.

If only she knew…

* * *

"I don't believe it! You still have it?"

"Of course I do, and you can use it tonight. It should be operational, just in pieces as you can see"

Gumball quickly shifted through the box, picking out bits of metal cogs and tubes, inspecting them," Yes everything looks fine but…what about you?"

"I have work to do, you know how it goes" she shrugged.

He chuckled lightly, grabbing the box and carefully maneuvering out of the storage room, "Oh trust me, I do, perhaps you should consider visiting Aaa for a vacation as well"

"I look forward to it; afterwards don't forget to report back to me with your findings"

"I promise, have fun with that peace treaty" he smiled sweetly, which earned him a playful shove.

"Shut up"

Royal inside jokes, there was nothing more brain numbing than a peace treaty.

While Bubblegum was busy writing out every single detail and closing every loop hole for a neighboring kingdom in the name of peace and prosperity, Gumball hummed happily to himself as he sat out on the balcony surrounded by numerous pieces and tools, reconstructing a telescope for star gazing and other such sciencey things.

With one last tight turn, the last screw was in place, completing the tripod and ready for the main scope….once it was finished being put back together. With his smile unwavering, he went back into the box, fishing out pieces of the telescope.

"C'mon is that the best you can do!?"

Only one voice would cause the prince to immediately drop what he was doing and find its source. He jumped to his feet and looked over the balcony's rail, at first finding nothing but the voices continued.

"Dude this is totally not fair!"

Seconds later a grunt of pain and Finn was sent flying, sliding against the grass and into the prince's line of sight. Soon, the Vampire Queen laughed, floating over the garden and placing a boot on the boys head.

"Hey you need to set an example for these guys, they're protecting your Bubblegum remember?" she grinned, gently poking as she spoke.

The boy suddenly jumped up, swatting her foot away, "They don't have to cuz that's my job!"

Gumball stood there, watching in awe as the human boy tackled the vampire and the two proceeded to wrestle. Which didn't last long, she easily slipped out of his grasp and Finn found himself, once again, kissing the ground with his face against the grass with his arms and head locked in her hold.

"Say it!"

"NEVER"

She pulled tighter.

Finn shrieked, "OH GLOB"

"Say Uncle! Come on you know I will break your arm!" she tried again, but instead received a dirty glare, humans always were stubborn creatures.

"Come at me bro!"

Despite his words, there was panic growing in his chest. Luckily for him, as he looked up at the current wrestling champ of the night, he happened to catch a glimpse of a pink figure staring down at them.

Finn was never one to play snitch but as one last attempt to escape without his arms being shattered to pieces, he hollered, "H-hey, Marcy! That guy is watching you!"

Marceline immediately looked up," What the-"

For one second, one mortifying second, their eyes met. Gumball felt his heart lunge into his throat, what now? She caught him watching. Unable to process and go through what the next step should be, he went with whatever he body was doing. In which his legs turned to jelly, the prince promptly dropped to the floor and hid behind the rail, out of the line of fire.

Meanwhile, Finn scrambled out of her grip and quietly whimpered to himself as he massaged his shoulders.

"Dude are you really tryin ta kill me?!" he whined, sitting up and pouting at the vampire girl.

But she didn't answer; she remained still looking up at the balcony where the watcher had "disappeared".

"I just don't…get it…" she mumbled to herself. What was with this guy anyway?

Finn stared at the Vampire Queen, then back up at the tower, then back to her. The gears of his brain finally clicked into place and a small smile formed on his face.

"Oh! I get it now!"

Marceline turned around, immediately not liking said look on his face," Finn…you are always one to misunderstand and take things too far…so what ever you are thinking is most likely wro-"

Finn stood up, cupped his hands over his mouth, took a lung full of air and screamed, "MARCELINE AND GUMBALL SITTING IN A TREE"

Somewhere within the tower, in a room where the prince had crawled off to insure his safety, Gumball spat out his drink.

Marceline's jaw dropped," Are you freaking kidding me!?"

"K-I-S-S-I-N- OH MY GLOB"

"I AM GOING TO RIP YOUR ARMS OFF"

"HALP"

Dropping his cup somewhere within the room, Gumball scrambled back to his feet and ran back outside to find Finn running for his dear life while a monstrous black wolf chased him around the gardens. It wasn't long before the small area of flowers and bushes wasn't cutting it for an escape route, Finn sprinted towards the nearest wall and clawed his way up and over with Marceline right on his tail.

Gumball wanted to laugh, the entire situation was rather silly; if it wasn't for the direct eye contact she made with him just before jumping over the wall and causing mayhem in the kingdom.

Despite the distant cries of fear and confusion as the hero of Ooo was being chased down by a giant werewolf, the night became just as silent and peaceful as before. He had almost forgotten about the telescope project, and with the evening still young, he didn't have a lot of time to dilly dally. He still had to build and be on time for the main event.

With one last sigh, he sat back down and retrieved a couple of pieces to be put together.

"Well…that just happened…"

* * *

Despite prior events, he managed to complete his work in time. The telescope was finished and ready for viewing. Various notes, books, scrolls and the like on astronomy was laid out on a nearby table; it was science time.

"Ok….the trajectory is set…the time is set…" he mumbled to himself, carefully setting dials, aiming, focusing and preparing the scope.

When suddenly a certain ear worm crawled into his head," Love bites…but so do I…so do I…"

Since the day he heard her sing it, it had been stuck in his head at random times and every once awhile he found himself singing along. Unfortunately, those were the only lines he knew as she stopped before she could finish. He let out a frustrated sigh.

"I wish I knew the rest…" he mumbled aloud, knowing no one would answer and continued softly singing the one line he did know.

Or so he thought.

"It repeats"

Gumball nearly jumped out of his own skin and whipped around to find the Vampire Queen, sitting casually on the balcony rail, watching and waiting….How long was she there?

"U-uh…I beg your pardon?" he sputtered over his words, he had no plans of mentally preparing himself for her arrival. He was too confident she was done with him not too long ago.

"The chorus, it just repeats" she answered," I haven't written the rest yet"

He remained frozen, for a moment completely forgetting what she was talking about, luckily the light switch flipped back on in realization, he laughed lightly at himself, "O-oh! Well thank you, I've had that small part stuck in my head all day"

She shrugged. He of course assumed the small gesture was along the lines of 'You're welcome loser'.

"I uh…what brings you up here"

"Finn complained of a sore butts and something about a broken soul."

He couldn't help but smile, "I had no idea Finn could run that fast"

"Anyway I'm bored. So here I am" she shrugged again.

"I see…" he coughed into his fist, attempting to hide the panic growing in his chest. She says she was bored but there is no doubt in his mind she was here because she caught him watching her.

Although to be fair, they were outside the window but that's not the point.

"Well unfortunately, I am doing some sciency work, it's rather boring" he laughed nervously, hoping it was enough to send the vampire away before she questioned him...or killed him. Since he arrived he was never too sure about her motives.

Yet there was this horrible, tiny secret hope that she would stay.

"…what are you doing?"

The Glob's this night were with him.

"Oh um, I'm comparing star charts" he stepped back and shifted through his papers and scrolls as a visual example, "I wanted to see the difference of star coordinates from Aaa to Ooo, there are some stars that are seen brighter where I live than here and vice versa. But more importantly, Bonnibel has the better telescope"

"Huh" was all she said, looking just as bored as ever," Cool, I guess"

He bit his lip, he was losing her and he had to think fast. There was no telling when she would appear to him again on her own will, "…um…would you like to see?"

"I've seen stars through a telescope before"

"Yes but have you seen a super nova before?"

A curious eye brow rose, "…a what now?"

Got her.

"A super nova is the death of a star, there is this particular star I have been researching back home. It's run out of it's nuclear fuel and collapses under it's own gravity, thus ending it's life cycle, when it does it creates a beautiful explosion in space. By all technical means, it already happened however is takes awhile for the after effects to be viewable from here and again this telescope is better for viewing such things light years away. According to my research we should be able to view it perfectly tonight"

Gumball quickly ran back inside and dove right back into the box where the telescope was stored. She watched him pull something out that somehow had him very excited and run back outside.

With a twist and pop, he stood back and grinned. The telescope now had two eye pieces, one on each side of the scope

Marceline pushed herself off of the rail and floated over, inspecting the new addition, "It's for two people?"

"Bonnibel and I made it when we were kids to star gaze together"

She opened her mouth to make a comment but quickly closed it, Bonnie was smart, everyone in Ooo knew that. If her cousin was just as smart then it would make perfect sense that two kids build a super telescope that could view a star explosion light years away.

"Alright let me just…" he looked through the eye piece while both of his hands worked on two different knobs of the scope. Carefully turning and adjusting in a pattern that was completely foreign to Marceline, she patiently waited; although keeping a note on how he stuck his tongue out when he was concentrating.

Suddenly his eyes widened and he let out a small gasp,"…found it"

Taking that as her cue, she took a seat in the air and peered through the eye piece.

"…what"

She backed away and blinked, making sure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. She peaked back, and backed away again, this time looking up at the sky where the scope was pointing. The night sky was peaceful as per usual, a few chirps of other nocturnal creatures and a gentle breeze.

But as she looked through the scope, things weren't much more exciting.

Somewhere, light years away, a star was going out with a bang. Literally.

Every single color and probably some she couldn't even name were slowly expelling outwards, like a cloud in the aftermath of any other explosion. Just a ball of pure color and light within the darkness of space. Marceline's jaw dropped, speechless at the sight.

"What the…"

Gumball was practically bouncing in his seat, "I love science, just look at that" he laughed, while keeping his eye glued to the scope, he blindly reached over and grabbed a pencil and notebook.

"Does this happen often?"

"No absolutely not, it's extremely rare to see one this clearly. The weather is perfect, the time and location is perfect" he just couldn't stop smiling, his hand scribbling nonstop on what he was seeing, "You have an excellent sense of timing"

"Heh, so I've been told" she chuckled,"…this is actually pretty freaking cool"

A few moments of silence passed, save for his constant pen scratching and flipping of papers when he ran out of room. But it was a silence that she found strangely comfortable.

Until suddenly the sound of furious note taking ceased.

She blinked out of her trance of the beauty of space and glanced at the other side of the scope only to find him watching her.

For the second time that night, they were caught in an eye lock, and for the second time, he quickly looked away hoping she wouldn't notice.

He didn't see the massive grin on her face; he could feel it.

"Shouldn't you be focusing on your once in a lifetime research?" she teased, suddenly finding his beat red face more interesting than the colors of space.

"M-my apologies" he mumbled, continuing his note taking though nowhere near as enthusiastic knowing she had caught him.

She let out a soft chuckle and resumed super nova gazing.

Gumball bit his lip; suddenly the explosion in space wasn't preoccupying his mind. His notes became random lines and scribbles for the sake of appearing like he was doing something important while his mind was racing. What now?

She was here. On her own free will. Boredom or not. They both knew he was watching her earlier despite not once talking on the subject. Now she was teasing him, just reveling in his blushes and stammering.

He let out a sigh and stopped his "note taking". Leaning back in his seat, blinking to readjust his vision he crossed his arms and took another risky plunge into the unknown.

"You're doing this on purpose" he said finally.

Her grin widened, "It's easy and fun" she turned away from the scope and gave him a toothy smile, "Yes, I am doing it on purpose"

Gumball frowned a bit, though his blush continued to burn his cheeks much to her amusement, "Well I suppose I can be glad I am providing some kind of entertainment for you" he paused for a moment, unsure if continuing was wise but words escaped before he could consider backing away.

"Was turning into a monster while I was watching on purpose too?"

There it was again. A split second where her eyes gleamed with surprise, he was much smarter than what she was giving him credit for.

"Maybe" she laughed, stretching like a satisfied cat after a nap she slowly flew up and away.

"This was pretty sweet, thanks dude" she waved her goodbyes from over her shoulder as she slowly flew away, just like that, completely done with him. He, however, was not.

He practically jumped out of his seat and called out, "Marceline wait!"

Much louder than he had planned but it got her attention regardless. She turned around, floating casually over the safety of the balcony, her hands in her pockets. Waiting.

There was so much he wanted to say. Apologize for watching her would be a good start, though that would lead into how utterly fascinating he found her to be. How her fangy smile made his heart leap out of his chest every time, or how her eyes just pierce his soul without even trying.

Yet all of those things didn't seem to fit what he truly wanted to say.

"I'm not afraid of you"

Her confident poker face died instantly. Gumball stood his ground and looked straight into her eyes as he said those words; bold words. He was completely serious and sincere. Her curiosity of the newcomer unfortunately led her to underestimate him.

She stared at this prince in pink, wide eyed and surprised.

Pleasantly surprised.

Her lips pulled back into a seductive but evil smirk exposing her fangs.

"You should be"

Gumball fell silent; she laughed and turned around," See ya later" and with that she flew off into the night.

He watched her go until she was completely out of sight, then he let out a lung full of air he had no idea he was holding in. Now he was alone, normally he would've been fine with that, he still had his research, books and notes to keep him busy. But the thrill was gone, flying off into the distance.

Plopping back into his seat, he grabbed his notes and continued his research, softly singing to himself.

"Love bites…but so do I…so do I…"

* * *

Sorry for the delay! This was a long one.

Again, I update my tumblr more often. There are a bunch of stories there I don't post here. (Due to laziness)

~Swd


	4. Trying to Figure you out

The next few days took a turn for the unfortunate as Gumball quickly ate his words he defiantly said to the Vampire Queen.

"_I'm not afraid of you_" he said; it wasn't until the next day he would call himself foolish for thinking there would be no consequences.

Since then it was apparent that Marceline's new goal in her unlife was to scare the pink prince every chance she got.

_"You have an excellent sense of timing_" he said also and she was intent on keeping that compliment true.

Unfortunately many of Gumball's hobbies included precision, patience, caution and a steady hand. But these were just words not in Marceline's vocabulary.

When stirring chemicals, she would growl or pop out from under the table, giving the poor man a heart attack and spilling his experiment which, more often than not, had explosive results.

The lab was in shambles within a week. Windows blown out, random green and blue blotches staining the walls and don't even look at the ceiling because there no longer was one. That explosion in particular nearly took out his face but he made it out with just one eyebrow intact luckily.

Marceline just laughed and laughed as she floated away, out the window with the purple smoke that escaped with the breeze. Leaving him aggravated, he may have a crush on the girl but that wasn't enough to justify ruining his precious experiments. Or more importantly, let her walk all over him like that.

But when approaching his cousin about this, she laughed as well. He theorized she had a secret lab all shiny, new and keeping it to herself. There was no other reason she didn't seem as upset as he did when the door wouldn't close properly.

"Well better you than me! Besides, think of it as…spending quality time together"

Gumball stood before a mirror, carefully molding a new eyebrow for himself. A chunk of his own hair was used, making his bangs not as bold but it was a sacrifice he was willing to make, "This isn't exactly what I had in mind…"

"Then ask her out"

He froze in the middle of wiggling his new brow, glancing upwards to catch the reflection of his cousin sitting pretty behind him with a smile.

"…I'm sorry…?"

"I'm being serious"

Turning around to face her, he leaned against the bathroom counter, "I thought you didn't approve"

She paused a moment, thinking over her words carefully, "Well, since you two had your little talk the other night, she hasn't been as rough with my guards or the boys. She's unpredictable but in some ways I can still kind of get what she's trying to do. She does the same thing with everyone before they become friends" she suddenly chuckled lightly as a relevant memory came to mind," She pranked Finn so hard she had him convinced they were going to murder the Nut family when they were just going to perform for a party"

Gumball stroked his chin in thought, "So…you think she's just trying to figure me out"

She shook her head, "It seems like it's her way of letting others understand her"

He turned back to the mirror for a moment, digesting these words, though they rang true, this was not justifiable.

He wanted revenge, for his pride as prince and for his brow.

"Has anyone ever…got her back?"

There was a small pause.

"Do you have a death wish?"

I'm going to take that as a No"

She opened her mouth to say something, anything really but she withheld. Only sighing instead, she stood up to leave, "Bubba, just…be careful, you're playing with fire"

With one last series of wiggling, his new brow was complete just as she walked out of the bathroom. He mumbled quietly to himself, "Yes well, so did Finn and now he has a girlfriend"

Bubblegum called out from the hallway, "I heard that"

* * *

"Are you sure your highness?"

"Yes, this is an extremely potent chemical; even the slightest distraction could end badly"

"…very well then I shall see to it that no one disturbs you"

"Thank you Peppermint"

Like the dinner bell to a hungry cat, Marceline grinned wildly, slinking deeper into the shadows. For as smart as the prince was, he didn't seem to catch on that he had a routine. She knew exactly when he would be in his lab, the kitchen, and the library, in that order.

The lab door locked shut, with minor difficulty, the jam didn't quite meet up anymore and Gumball began to work. She had no idea what he was working on, she never knew nor did she care. The jolt of excitement she received from making him scream and jump out of his own skin was enough to keeping her coming back. That would be the answer she would tell you if you asked.

But her motives were always twisted but she always got the answers she wanted. For this week's experiment:

How long will it take for him to crack?

Like a patient predator, she hid in the furthest and darkest corner of the lab, silently watching his every move.

She made note of when he was concentrating extra hard, or being twice as careful, slowing down and triple checking his notes before moving on. That was when she struck. It was a guaranteed success every time.

It didn't seem to take long this time around; whatever he was doing he seemed rather confident with himself. Though not for much longer.

Instantly, she warped the light around herself, cloaking her entire body in invisibility…or at least that's what she assumed that was how it worked. Regardless, she silently flew in closer, until she was hovering over his table.

He had no idea she was just two inches from his face with her lips pulled into the biggest grin, her pearly white fangs exposed, ready for the attack. This was going to be an excellent scare. She could see the sweat building on his brow as he very carefully poured a red liquid into a dark purple beaker.

Drip.

By.

Drip.

Within a blink of an eye, Marceline appeared into view, with her face pulled into a fierce wolf, snarling and roaring right in front of him.

It was over in an instant, Gumball screamed and dropped the two beakers as he jumped back and crashed into the wall behind him.

Usually the air time of the fallen beakers was just enough to allow the vampire to escape before the explosion occurred. But the moment the two liquids touched more than one drop at a time, the reaction was immediate. The room was subject to a massive explosion of a bright pink cloud, right in front of her face.

Marceline covered her face with her arms in hopes of blocking any damage but there was none. No disintegrating or highly poisonous acid or burning of any kind followed. Just a strange thick pink smoke.

She coughed and hacked, swiping at the cloud in front of her in hopes of getting it out of her breathing space.

"Marceline!" a voice called out.

She looked around but it was too thick, she could barely see two feet in front of her, "Wh-what the hell was that!?" she growled.

A small click and squeak was heard, he was opening the window.

Which was odd, he usually had it open in the first place for such potent chemicals.

Another small click followed by a loud hum and the smoke was clearing. Within seconds the cloud was blown out of the lab and out the window thanks to a rather large fan she swore wasn't there five seconds ago. He was oddly prepared for this.

Finally, she could see, the smoke cleared out quickly and all was well…in fact…there wasn't a single trace of there ever being an accident save for the two shattered beakers on the floor.

Everything was perfectly fine, except Gumball's massive smile on his face. It unnerved her to no end. There was something wrong and she didn't like it.

"Hey! I'm talking to you! What the hell was that!?" she snarled, flying forward and threatening him with a shaking fist.

But her hand was not her own.

It was pink. Bright pink.

"What the…fuck…" her eyes slowly trailed to her hand, to her arm. Her skin was now pink, much like his and Bubblegum's. Marceline panicked, lifting the hem of her pants up, exposing her now pink leg. Then lifted her shirt, her stomach was also pink. Her entire body was now pink.

Gumball clicked the fan off and stood up, biting his knuckles, refraining from laughing but having a rather difficult time holding it in, his shoulders shook slightly and the grin on his face just wouldn't go away.

"Aw I think you look good pink"

Marceline however, did not find this amusing. In a flash, she grabbed a fist full of his lab coat and shoved him against the wall.

"WHAT THE FUCK"

Pissed was an understatement.

Yet for the life of him, her scowl just wasn't as intimidating with a bright pink face. He grunted in pain but still just chuckled.

"Perhaps you should think twice on messing with a scientist…who happens to have a skin changing recipe" Of course it didn't effect him in any way, he was already pink.

Her eye was twitching now. Her fist pushed against his chest as she lifted him up against the wall and off his feet.

"Ow ow ow I'm not sorry!" he whined in pain, squirming and kicking, he held onto her hand tight. He knew there would be consequences to this, would she actually kill him? Probably. But he refused to let her have her way.

Her other hand was pulled back into a fist, ready for a beating. Gumball squeaked, curling himself into a half hazard fetal position in her grasp, covering his face with his hands.

"It will wear off I swear! It's not permanent!" he whimpered pathetically, waiting for the beating of a lifetime.

But nothing came, just a small snort that eventually turned into a chuckle.

Gumball opened one eye, peering over his arm to find the Vampire Queen smiling. Her shoulders and arm began to shake, her mouth twisted, desperately fighting the urge to laugh but found herself loosing it.

"Uh…"

Her hold on him suddenly disappeared, gravity pulled him straight down and he landed flat on his behind as Marceline floated back, clutching her stomach and laughing hysterically. Gumball gulped, very cautiously standing up; this was definitely not the reaction he was expecting.

"H-holy shit!" she laughed, wiping the corner of her eyes with the back of her hand," You…you sneaky bastard! You…got me back!? I didn't think you had the guts to do it!"

"Uh…yeah…you're not…mad?" he questioned softly, backing away in case she changed her mind.

Her head snapped back up, "Oh I'm pissed, don't get me wrong. But I'm letting it slide because…that was pretty badass"

She landed on the ground, her boots thumping against the floor as she walked forward and offered an outstretched hand to him, requesting a friendly hand shake.

"No hard feelings? For ruining your other experiments?" her smile was innocent; which should've been the first hint.

Though he hesitated, his hand slowly reached out and took hers,"…sure…no hard feelings…" he mumbled, watching her carefully.

Today seemed to be filled with spontaneous events that happened and were over in an instant.

Marceline's grip on his hand tightened as she pulled him towards her, his sleeve lifted just enough to expose skin and just enough room for her to bite down.

"OW OW HEY!" he screamed, jerking his hand away and out of her mouth. She let out a dark laugh as he backed away, shaking his hand out as the pain shot up his arm, " What are you…"

Out of pure habit, when experiencing a minor cut or bruise, he lifted his new wound to his lips. His eyes widened in horror as he realized his skin had suddenly changed to grey. She sucked the pink out of his arm in one gulp, he will find out later that half of his face was also grey.

"Now we're even!" she cackled, flying out the window and into the sunset as he chased after her.

"MARCELINE!"

For the second time he watched her fly away and leave him alone to his own thoughts about what the hell just transpired just moments ago. His plan for revenge didn't exactly go according to plan; did it even count after that stunt? It didn't matter anymore, soon Gumball found himself smiling and eventually, laughing.

He wondered how his cousin would react if he told her this wasn't just a crush anymore.

* * *

**CRAZY IMPORTANT NOTE**

The next chapter has copyrighted lyrics, which is not allowed here (I have had fics deleted due to this rule )

**I CAN'T POST THE NEXT CHAPTER HERE.**

PLEASE FOLLOW ME/BOOKMARK MY TUMBLR (mizuaoi . tumblr ) FOR THE REST OF THE STORY AND OTHER GUMCELINE AND ADVENTURE TIME RELATED FICS.

THANK YOU

~SWD


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